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The Silk Road Exhibition at Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Posted on July 11, 2014 at 3:30 PM, updated July 29, 2014 at 9:36 AM Print

Confucius Institute at CSU participates in The Silk Road Exhibition
at Cleveland Museum of Natural History

June 29, 2014 – The Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University participated in an exhibition at Cleveland Museum of Natural History titled “The Silk Road.” The Silk Road is a four-month exhibition hosted by the CMNH, which included a one-night concert and cultural festival in coordination with organizations including the Confucius Institute, and this year’s events were very popular with guests from around Cleveland. Activities for “The Silk Road” festival included a calligraphy exhibition, which not only demonstrated Chinese calligraphic art and processes to the people of Cleveland, but also gave audiences additional information regarding the Confucius Institute at CSU and those activities, events, and programs the CI has recently launched.

Around 2 pm, Professor Xuwei Li from the Confucius Institute at CSU arrived at the museum along with three student assistants and arranged the calligraphy exhibition. The inlaid red tablecloth included many Chinese characteristics, and the display of Chinese traditional decorative knots and the Four Treasures of the Study (Four Treasures of the Study is an expression used to denote the brush, ink, paper and ink stone used in Chinese calligraphic traditions) increased the artistic and cultural charm of the exhibition. After the calligraphic exhibition started, many people lined up for a close look at the Chinese calligraphic process and to receive a personalized calligraphy piece of their own name transliterated into Chinese. The Xuan paper used to write people’s names included the Confucius Institute’s logo and contact information. Guests who attended the calligraphy exhibition also communicated with CI staff members about Chinese culture and current events in China. Besides the calligraphic signature demonstration, the Confucius Institute also prepared a special kind of water writing paper for the public to learn calligraphy through practice, and many children were interested in following up with a Chinese teacher to learn how to write Chinese characters. Many guests showed great interest in CI programs after reading leaflets about China Day and CI’s Continuing Education courses.

Through the efforts of the CI staff, the calligraphic exhibition was very successful. Ms. Laura Pinnick, the CMNH coordinator for The Silk Road Cultural Festival, expressed her appreciation for the hard work of Confucius Institute teachers and staff. The calligraphy activities were a wonderful addition to the Silk Road exhibition and also an excellent promotional opportunity for the Confucius Institute to display and demonstrate Chinese culture.